Year of the Spark: October 7
by Sparky Army
Summary: The only logical choice is to take the job and move on with her life. But he’s holding her back.


_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers That Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you and anyone might happen to read these works, agree. _

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some --and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

**AN (sparkly): **This is just an idea I had. I hope I worte it well. Starts in season 3, mainly set during The Return part 1. It's a little AU ficlet for it. Enjoy! (Yes it's an order, lol, except it's not quite so happy…sorry!)

**Moving On**

**By: sparklyshimmer2010**

It's not long after the incident with the nanites infecting her that Elizabeth notices there's something odd going on with John, or rather, with how he acts around her. He seems uncomfortable, nervous, and even unwilling to even have a casual conversation. She doesn't know why but something has happened to their once so easy relationship. Now it's become complicated, with more fights than their friends can handle. He avoids her, sees her only when he has to at the meetings and in certain situations where both of them are required to be present.

Once or twice he hesitates, just before he leaves the balcony for her to be alone, as he's the last one to exit the conference room, as if he desperately wants to tell her something. And then she catches a look of fear flicker in his eyes. He doesn't think she notices, but she does. She just doesn't understand! Never before was the man so damn frustrating.

It's a week or two after John's encounter with the Genii where he she watched the wraith drain his life when she notices that she's seeing even less of him. She doesn't realize it's because she's doing the exact same thing to him as he is to her.

It's when Rodney, Teyla, and then finally _Ronon _all talk to her that she finally stops avoiding him. She's realized she cares a lot for him – exactly how much she isn't ready to define.

She tries to get him alone, tries even to talk through the less than private glass walls of her office in desperation, to understand what's going on. It doesn't work. There continues to be a strain in their relationship.

Eventually one of his teammates – probably Rodney – must have spoken to him because he starts talking to her again, as if there was never even anything ever amiss. He smiles at her. He eats with her, doesn't run when they bump into each other in the hallway.

On the outside it looks like they are normal again.

But on the inside, on the inside it's not the same. He doesn't try especially to make her smile. He keeps his distance, maybe not physically, but emotionally. He doesn't go out of his way to see her, to make sure she's ok. He used to be her best friend – but in these few months he's been less, and it's confusing as hell. And it hurts.

So when the Ancients come back and reclaim 'their' – she can't stop thinking of it as the expeditions – city, they're still not on the best of terms.

At first he's as absent as ever before, but within the first two weeks he's trying to be the old friend he was. It's as if some epiphany has captured him. Whatever had caused his remoteness before he has gotten over. Plus, now that they've been forced to leave and he has no reason to see her he wants to. That makes her happy, somewhat.

It's been a month since they've left and she's talking to Carson when she comes to two realizations. One, she's in love with John. She has no clue how she didn't know before. Maybe she wasn't allowing herself to feel it, but now she needs to feel something for someone, since she has lost her city and her friends.

The second realization is that she has no real reason to stay in Colorado Springs.

They no longer have a use for her in the Stargate program, at least, as Carson pointed out, nothing that she can't just do over the phone. There's only two people here she'd miss if she were to leave, both of which she hasn't seen often at all after the first week of meetings. She's only hurting herself by staying. She's pining over the city, and she's pining over John.

It's ironic really. Now that she and John seem to be back to normal, now that he's more or less the same around her (whenever they _do _get together), she doesn't want to see him. It only makes her heart ache more every time they part. She wants to be a bigger part of his life than she is. It would be easier to just keep in touch by phone.

It's General O'Neill who offers her a way out. He's talked to some people over in DC, and now she has an offer to take up her old PoliSci class as a professor again.

On one hand, this gives her the chance to get out of the Cheyenne Mountain and clear her head. She _has _missed teaching there. And she likes to think she has some new perspectives after her three year tour in another galaxy.

On the other hand….

She can't honestly think of an other. The only logical choice is to take the job and move on with her life. But he's holding her back. There's some bit of hope left in her that tells her to stay.

After a few days of deliberation (thankfully she has two weeks to accept – or decline – the position at Georgetown) she comes to a compromise with herself.

She's not sure what John feels but she knows if she wants more than friendship from him, apparently she's going to have to make the first move. She decides to go to dinner with him, just the two of them, talk to him. She's not big into the whole sudden declaration of love thing, but she resolves to let him know – one way or another – that she needs him, cares for him deeply.

The dinner date comes and goes. He never picked her up because of an injury – she's guessing from off world. After that she completely loses her nerve.

She talks to Carson again – somehow knowing he'd know what she should do. She tells him she's thinking about leaving. He understands why she's hesitant and encourages her to talk to John. Perhaps the right thing she should do, but not the thing she _wants _to do. When Carson sees she won't, he immediately goes to John himself.

She has four days left of the week and still hasn't made a decision, has in fact, refrained from even thinking about it. She is at the SGC (Daniel asked for help on a treaty he's working on for two countries on a planet and asked her to come in since she was in the area still), trying to avoid John, but true to John style, he finds her within the first hour.

Daniel's out after coffee when he walks up and asks her with a frown why she didn't tell him about the job offer. She gives him a sad smile and shrug. She tells him she hasn't decided yet, that she'd miss him. He frowns some more and tells her softly that it's a good thing for her. Tells her to stop wasting her time here.

He doesn't know how her heart sinks when he says that, nor does he know the small amount of anger that flits through her. Had he asked her to stay she would have.

But he does see her poorly hidden disappointed look. He walks confused to the infirmary and talks to Carson. This time he finds out that she might care about him, a lot more than he thought possible.

He's scared when he learns that he didn't tell her what she wanted to hear, that she might leave him. He's been too afraid to do act on his feelings, didn't want to ruin the friendship they had. Unlike her, he was alright if she was never a bigger part of his life, as long as she was near to give him the strength she always did.

He can't get away from the SGC for three days, can't even call her. He and his team have been assigned to a longer mission than usual. The moment he's back from the mission though, he rushes to her place. If only she's there so they can talk.

The apartment is empty.

* * *

Sequel? :D


End file.
